15 - Boons or Bust

General Summary

Previously

Expedition - 07b - The Lost Ones

Scaley & Shelly encountered the Waspman in the Strange Forest and apparently gave their names away to him, he offered to return their names if they found & returned his wings. He didn't give more info than that, though they agreed.

Expedition - 12 - Wings of Desire

Gnaa, Scaley, & Shelly ended up finding the wings in the underground Drowned Archives attached to the tiefling siblings, Dharnom & Naza Stavenger. The wings reluctantly were removed from the siblings and refused to attach to Scaley. They bagged they and brought them back to the guild to research before allowing Scaley and Shelly to return them.

Encounter

On the Road

The cartographers set off westward towards Pathfinders Trail in search of this Strange Forest to return the wings. While on a Bend in the Road they noticed what appeared to be a large vulture circling above. They kept their eyes on it which was to their benefit as it quickly descended upon them in an attempted ambush though the party was ready.
They dispatched of the vulture and after examining its corpse they determined it was an Omen Vulture instead of any normal vulture. This knowledge sent some chills throughout the party as they set off and continued their search for the Strange Forest. They made their way as far westward as The Deadlands but did not find it, even though they had searched were they found it last time. They set up camp and enjoyed a short rest when they noticed what appeared to be a golden canary fluttering about. They got up and followed it and before they knew it they found themselves deep into the Strange Forest.

The Forest

The Antlerman

The party continued onward and followed the golden canary deeper into the forest even though they could feel eyes peering at them from deep in leafy trees and bushes. The canary led them to a humanoid creature wearing a cloak and clothes made of leaves and grass, and had a pair of antlers growing from their head. This Antlerman was standing in a small ray of sunshine piercing the leafy rooftop. The canary landed on his finger and he welcomed the party to the woods.
The party and he had a short discussion in which the party grew increasingly frustrated with his riddle speak. Though the Antlerman seemed to have a small glimmer in his eyes as he referred to Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron as "his bearded friend", the party was careful to not reveal or give their true names to this creature. Though he did admit early on that he was not interested in taking names like "The Unwinged One" was and never asked for their names as the Waspman did.
During the short discussion it was clear that the creature would prefer the party to give it the wings instead of the Waspman. It said some things such as

"The One Who Wishes to Fly" doesn't dress or act like us

"The One Who Dreams to Buzz" wishes to leave "The Ever Yawning Green"

The wings would prefer to be with it.^{(rereferring to itself, the Antlerman)}

It also offered boons to the party should they give him the wings but would not divulge details other than more riddles. Without more clear information the party quickly moved on in search of the Waspman.

The Waspman

They continued their search and found this creature without any such trouble that they had in their last venture into this forest. He asked for the wings with the party withdrew from their bag, the wings appeared to visibly resist going to the Waspman and the party began to more aggressively attempt to ask questions of this creature, as well as Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron attempts his signature move of clasping his hand on others shoulder.
The creature teleports away and began to act more aggressively (if only verbally) as suggests to Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron to not test him. Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron doesn't heed this suggestion and the creature immediately freezes Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron where he stood, and these two Strange Cat and Snake Creatures came out of the forest behind the Waspman, flanking him on each side.
He continued to ask the party for the wings and if they would like to conclude the deal to which the party begrudgingly agreed to, and handed over the squirming wings and regained the knowledge of their previous names and quickly begin to feel that they made the wrong decision as the Waspman and those Strange Cat and Snake Creatures melt back into the forest with the wings in hand.

The Promise

The party returned to the patch of forest with the small ray of sunshine, hoping to find if the Antlerman was still there. To the parties surprise he was still there, canary fluttering about his finger. The party ultimately made an agreement with the Antlerman that in exchange for whichever boons he previously promised they would aid when he calls to assit in keeping the Waspman from exiting the "Elder Emerald Green".

Scaley recieved the "Boon of Thorns"

Shelly recieved the "Boon of Turtle's Might"

Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron recieved the "Boon of the Lunar Moth"

Rewards Granted

Image	Boon & Description
	Boon of Thorns This corsage is teeming with all manner of verdant plant life and grows from Scaley's tail. Four roses decorate the corsage, whose colors and arrangement can be magically changed using an action while wearing it. You always smell of fresh plants and roses while wearing the corsage. You can remove a rose from the corsage as if you were unsheathing a weapon. When you do, the rose's stem magically extends from the flower, transforming into a long thorn at its tip. The rose is considered to be a +1 dagger with double throwing range and can't be returned to the corsage once removed. If a removed rose is more than 5 feet away from the corsage at the end of a turn, it withers and becomes an ordinary dead rose. The corsage regrows 1d4 missing roses daily at dawn.
	Boon of Turtles Might The wounds in Shelly's shell, left from the strange fanged toads, now functions as an interdimensional holding space these rules: The pouch can hold up to 80 pounds of material with no added weight cost. Placing an object in the space follows the normal rules for interacting with objects. Retrieving an item from the shell requires you to use an action. When you reach into the haversack for a specific item, the item is always magically on top. The space can't be destroyed by being torn or pierced.
	Boon of the Lunar Moth Phantasmal wings sprout from Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron's back, glowing like soft moonlight. Eddo gains these abilities: While attuned with this boon, you can move an extra 10 feet when you take the Dash action. In addition, while wearing this cape, you can speak its command word as a bonus action when you jump to cause it to unfurl and flap downwards, sending you 10 feet into the air when you reach the height of your jump. This property can't be used again until you land on solid ground.

Related Reports

SPOILER (click to reveal)

Scaley & Shelly first found their way into the Strange Forest during Expedition 07b - The Lost Ones where they chased a golden rabbit into the forest. This is the first time they met the Waspman as well is being the time they lost their names, or gave them away to be correct, and is when they were asked to find the wings.

The Cartographers found the wings in the Drowned Archives during Expedition 12 - Wings of Desire.

Report Date

24 Oct 2022

Primary Location

Strange Forest

Secondary Location

Heartland Forest Locations

Related Plots

• Discontent in the Strange Forest

Related Characters

• Eduardo "Eddo" Jeron
• Enik
• Fred the Level 2 Donkey
• Wally